The Pauper Princess
by VictoireFaye
Summary: She walked shoeless in Termina, a slave. Her life she spent in the cold, without even a memory. She was taunted with cries of "Princess" - yet all this would change the day he strode into her town. That day she found her Prince. LZ AU Fairytale spinoff
1. Child's Tears

**_The Pauper Princess_**

_By,_

_Victoire Faye_

_**Child's Tears**_

* * *

"Come now, child. Your Father awaits you." The old nurse maid bent down to meet the young Princess, who stood timidly in her bedroom. She was no more that five winters old, and trembled where she stood. Her large blue eyes looked at her maid, filled with fear and inquiry. Her angelic features shone by candlelight. The old woman took the young girls hand, and knelt down upon the 

floor, reaching a weathered hand to the girl's rosy cheek.

"Zelda, he needs you now." The young girl choked back tears and nodded, and the maid led her into the castle halls. _"She is such a poor dear_," the maid thought to herself, "_poor dear_." Her fair mother passed shortly after her birth, and she was left with only her Father, the constantly busy yet loving King of Hyrule. He'd remarried to a noble woman, who seemed nice enough but never took a liking to her small step daughter, yet every single staff member in the palace looked upon the girl as his or her own child. She was fed midnight snacks in the kitchens by cooks, and hoisted up to stroke the royal horse's noses by the stable workers. She was told stories by her nannies, and proclaimed a delight by all. How unfortunate that pity should befall her again.

Her father now lay in his bed, inches from the grave. He had been ill for quite a while, and all the while his wife stood above his bed, ignoring his request to look upon his daughter but one last time. Finally, the Queen allowed her to be summoned.

The maid pushed the young, hesitant girl through the door to her father's death bed, the young Zelda tripping on her thick skirts. She met the King's bed side, and knelt before him, her tiny hands folded. The King's gaze met her own, and his eyelids hung like heavy curtains upon his gaunt face. He was pale and his hair seemed ragged. No one had slipped a word of warning to the Princess, but she knew her Father was dying.

"Papa," she spoke in a broken voice.

"Zelda, my beautiful Zelda." He smiled fondly upon her, as if he was lost in memory. "You've made me proud, and I know you'll grow into a wonderful young woman, a monarch. Be honorable Zelda, follow your heart. It will show you what's just, what is right."

"Papa, don't leave me." She threw her arms over him, and pressed her head against his blankets.

He kissed her head, and lifted her chin up to meet her tear streaked face. "I have to go, Zelda. I have to go." She whimpered, and the tears flowed down her face in thick rivulets.

"Be strong for me, my child, be strong." She nodded. Her father contemplated her face once again.

"You remind me so much of your mother." He smiled. "So beautiful."

"That's enough." A cold voice barked from a darkened corner of the room, and her stepmother, Narcissa, stepped into the light. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun, and her dark eyes were perched above an arched nose. She was adorned in too many jewels, and she wore a lavish gown, far to luxurious for one who would soon be in mourning. With pursed lips, she commanded. "Nurse, take that girl away from here. Can't you see she's upsetting the King?"

The nurse pried the princess away, holding the crying girl who still reached for her father, she spoke out. "'That girl' is the Princess, and the only heir to the throne."

The queen turned, "What did you say? How dare you speak back to me!"

"Begging your pardon, Ma'am, begging your pardon." She carried the distraught child to her chambers, suddenly feeling tears in her own aged eyes.

Zelda sat up in her bed, meeting with the dark night. She hadn't been able to sleep. Not after the events of the night. A noise at her door reached her, and she stood to meet whoever entered. Never had she felt so lonely.

Her stepmother entered with a slate-like face, and stared down upon her.

"Can I see my father?" She cried out before the woman could say anything.

She hesitated. "Of course, Zelda. Follow me."

Zelda followed her stepmother with trust, and contemplated whether or not the woman had ever called her by her given name. It wasn't before they were deep withing the castle that she realized that they were not on the path to her father's room.

"Forgive me, Stepmother," Zelda bowed, her long hair nearly touching the ground. "I do not think this is the way to my Father's chambers."

"And why would we be going there?" She asked coldly.

"Milady, you said-"

"Curse what I told you. Your Father is dead." She turned around form her path. "We are going to The West Tower, where I can lock you up and be rid of you. Poor fool! You cannot rule Hyrule, you are but a mere child, and ignorant child! You will not take my throne."

Zelda cried "Stepmother..." The lady seized toward her and she tried to run, but her Stepmother pulled the hem by her nightgown and she fell into a heap on the ground. Narcissa pulled the small girl onto her shoulders and tried to carry her up a flight of stairs. Zelda kicked and screamed out, and near the top of the stone steps Narcissa let go of the failing girl, and the Princess was sent tumbling down the stone steps and onto the landing many feet below.

Footsteps where heard down a corridor, and Narcissa gasped in fear of being discovered. A guard met her with panic.

"What happened?"

"Oh thank God it's only you, Mark. It seems the Princess has fallen down the steps in a tantrum." Narcissa spoke in sadistic color and calmness. She cocked her head to the left to examine the sprawled body of Zelda. The comrades walked down to meet her, and Narcissa bent down and turned her body over.

"Is she dead?" Mark asked.

"No, she's bleeding though," she pressed her hand to the red fluid spilling from a gash upon her forehead and onto her night dress. "It's likely her arm is broken as well."

"Don't worry Milady, she won't remember a thing when she comes to. I've seen it before." He tried to assure her, but in actuality he inspired her.

"Yes, perhaps that's better." She sneered. "I need a favor of you."

The poor Zelda was taken from the castle, and deposited to the claws of the world.

--------------------------------

A/N: Whoa, I've been publishing like crazy lately. I've been rater sick, and my Mom's on buisness so I'm in France by my lonesome. Mostly I've been with my friends around town (It's a crazy city when you're under the influence of Nyquil) but I've also found time to pull out some of these ideas floating in my head. More to come promptly. Hope you like it!


	2. Thievery

_**Thievery **_

* * *

Zelda plodded through Termina field, clutching a fraying shall around her shoulders and a woven basket full of fish for the night's super, her eyes glancing toward the great walls of the town of Termina. Actually, she could barely feel the weight swinging from her arm. Rupees were few and far between for her masters, the owners of an inn inside the town of Termina, this meant a thin soup for a nightly supper. The sun pulled itself up over the horizon, doing little to harden the muddy ground and thaw the ice still evident on the ground from the harsh winter just barely passed. The rags she wore tied around her feet did little to protect her reddened feet. She used to have shoes, but someone stole them from her in the town the previous summer.

Even though she was clothed in nothing more than a dress that seemed to be made mostly of patches and her meager attempt to keep warm in the form of a shall, she still had a definite beauty about her. It was undisputed amongst the women in the town that she had the most enviable of features- eyes made of sapphires, long hair spun from gold, and the sveltest of bodies-perhaps a little too svelte at times. They never uttered a word of this admiration to her of course, for in their minds, she was still the lowest in the town. She was but a common slave girl, yet her appearance boiled the blood of even the most affluent the town. It was a very presence she had, and her face nearly glowed and bore only the slightest flaw of a scar upon her forehead, near hidden under her locks of hair.

The scar was as much of a mystery as she was to herself. Her first memories are of a small girl waking clad only in a blanket with a horrible pain in her arm and blood dried on her face. She was in a carriage, she recognized the noise of the horses and the feeling of the turning wheels. It was dark, and their was only one barred window where she could see the passing of the night. She lunged at a door to find it locked, and screamed out to deaf ears. She was in a foreign place, unsure of what was happening, but that was not why she cried. She screamed because, to her mind, this might as well have been her first breath.

At first she couldn't remember her own name. She didn't have any memory of where she had been from, why she was locked in a carriage. Her history was lost, and she could sense she was being moved farther from it with every rotation of the carriage wheels.

She slept upon the rough floor of the compartment, and she arose to streaks of light meeting her eyes. She stood, clutching the dirty blanket to her body with her functioning arm. A man in a cloak met her, but she could not see his face. He picked her up, and she did not object. She was with him only briefly, as he passed her off to an old woman. She gave her a crumpled dress to wear, and wrapped her arm into a sling and cleaned her face. The woman then clasped her working hand in a shackle. Zelda never spoke a word during this. She had nearly forgotten communication.

She found herself walking behind a different carriage, driven by the woman. She was chained to no less then thirty others of a similar age although she appeared to be among the youngest. They stopped late into the night to settle on the earth for a short night of sleep, as they woke before the sun to walk again. Every night they were fed but a handful of cold boiled corn. During the path, if someone fell from heat or hunger, they pulled them along. If by the end of the day they were dead, the remaining children where made to move earth with their cupped hands and bury the departed in sallow graves.

Eventually, they started arriving in towns. They would enter one and stand in a market square, and one by one villagers would come up and put rupees into the old woman's hands and take one of the children. Zelda had been strong enough to make the arduous voyage, but no one wanted a small girl. Finally, when they entered the thick walls of Clock Town, a graying woman approached them with a small red haired girl in hand.

"How much for the little blond girl?" She croaked.

"75 Rupees."

"Are you mad? The scrawny thing isn't worth 50."

The old woman look upon the girl, one of the last to be sold. "60." She muttered.

"Done," the woman toting the girl chirped. Zelda was unchained, utterly confused by what was happening. She was pulled into the street, gripped by back of the dress. She made no attempt to speak, but the woman scolded her.

"You are to keep your mouth shut and do as I say, girl." She nodded.

The read head girl appeared to be a few years older, and had a kind face. She leaned around, and whispered "What is your name?"

Without a conscious thought she spoke her name. She barely dared to whisper it, but she eked out the word "Zelda." The word seemed to be her name, yet it was so strange. The familiarity formed in her mouth and mind, the first key and only one she had to what she was before.

"I'm Anju, and that is my grandmother. I promise we'll be friends, Zelda."

The words were pleasant at first, but Zelda soon realized she had no time for friends. She was lead through the busy streets until they stopped at a humble building. Her master opened the door with a key and pulled the younger girls inside.

"This is our inn, the Stock Pot Inn."

She barely had time to adapt to being inside a building for the first time in her memory when she was dragged back to a long winding hall and into a kitchen. The master pulled out a bucket filled with soapy water and a scrub brush.

"Wash," she said, pointing to the ground. And she had lived like this for twelve years.

She entered the town, receiving a nod from a guard. She walked down the ally of West Clock Town, with her next task being to go to the southern portion of the city for a loaf of bread. She received a few catcalls from the shady men of this side, and she kept her head tucked away from them.

In her hand he held a handkerchief, which stowed away in her skirts. It was tied around an entire two rupees, enough bread for the day. She lived with a family that had been lucky enough to keep their business- economic downfall had pelted the entire kingdom of Hyrule. In the time of peril only the sins of men prevailed. Crime was rampant through the small city, and while honest people tried to scrape by, brothels and bars alike flourished. This was perhaps one of the only reasons the only building with beds and privacy in town had survived.

She slipped down an ally, trusting in sunlight to keep her safe. This however, would not suffice. No sooner had she walked between the buildings than both her exits were blocked. A local gang of boys had gathered, she recognized them as the Bombers. Many of them blocked her passage, and she yelled out, trying her best to be forceful. "What do you want of me? I haven't anything to give you!"

The leader came forward, and signaled the others. They saw past her. She tumbled to the cobblestone, falling on her wrist, and the leader took her hand and pulled away her handkerchief. Just as quickly as she fell, they grabbed her Rupees and ran off. She yelled out after them, but their was no way the small woman could fend of six of them, especially with what felt like a broken wrist. Her eyes leaked out tears of anger and gritted her teeth, but anger was soon swept away by panic. She knew she'd be beaten for this, beaten hard.

She scuttled into the South of Town, cradling her wrist, and the morning market was as busy as ever. People passed by in every direction, she went unnoticed. She new she had to bring back a loaf of bread, but she hadn't a rupee. She stepped before the stand she needed, and the keeper was in a state of chaos dude to many haggling customers.

Then the thought occurred to her.

She could steal the bread.

No, she didn't want to be counted as a common thief. She was no thief. But Goddess, how her mistress would be angry if she had lost the money. The bruises still pained her from when she cracked the kettle a week ago. She wouldn't meet that cane again.

She moved to the side of the table, in clean sight of the bread. She stuck her uninjured arm out slyly, inching forward to the parcel. Zelda tensed in concentration and anticipation, her arm was nearly there...

Then she felt a firm grasp upon her arm, and she turned to met who had caught her. In frenzy, her eyes hazed over. She met with a face she didn't know, and blue intense eyes. He released her, and tossed a few rupees at the stall keeper. He shoved the bread into her arms. She could barely breath.

She took a few steps back and ran off, still panting.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and read so far. I just wanted to address the fact that the beginning is a little trite as some of you have pointed out. I apologize, but I failed to mention before that it is themed off of a fairytale like plot, but please, stay with me and hopefully things will get interesting. (Zelink in next chapter)

-Victoire


	3. Chance Meeting

_Chance Meeting_

* * *

Her feet carried her swiftly to East Clock Town, she stopped just outside the Stock Pot Inn, her heart still pounding in her chest. She took deep breaths to compose herself, for she certainly couldn't attempt to calm herself. Under the thatched awning, she allowed herself to sink down the wall until she met the street. She sat, rubbing her temples and contemplating crime. She stood, and slipped in through the door. 

Anju leaned over the counter, examining and picking at the ends of her red hair. She wore a woven green skirt, a blouse and vest- not the most extravagant of clothing but certainly decent. Besides that, she owned other outfits as well-something Zelda could never have said for herself. There was nothing about Anju that suggested a less than decent outward appearance, but nothing about her spoke of beauty either. She was generally plain in looks and attitude. She was always kind to Zelda when she remembered to be so, but she was constantly flooded in illusion and daydream. She had once been engaged to a well known mischief maker of the town, years before, but just days before the wedding he disappeared. Since then she hung her lachrymose head in the hotel, muttering incoherent words as the days dragged on around her. Her Grandmother urged her to find another, but she had no interest.

"Hello, Anju."

"Hello Zelda." She didn't look up, but she began twiddling with a feather pen.

"Any new customers?" Zelda tried to keep her voice steady.

"No, no one. Just me here. Grandmother's gone around to the kitchen." Zelda clambered further into the room. The hotel had fallen from it's original state along with the decay of the town. The wall paper began to peel and the windows began to stain with the passage of time. Vandals marked the exterior, while the interior became a haven for the promiscuous. They came at night, lovers unknown to daylight and invisible underneath the moon, slipping in a snatching a key from Zelda, for a slave girl can speak nothing of these happenings, for even when the mayor saunters in with a wench he plucked from the bar minutes before closing, both drunk and stumbling, the slave is no better. In the morning, when he leaves hiding his face, she is even more inferior.

She walked around the winding hall, toting the food in her able arm. She stepped into the kitchen, where her master sat with a cup of tea to her lips. She stood when Zelda entered. Disgust filled her aging eyes. She had regretted purchasing Zelda for a long time. Her beauty had long detracted from her own granddaughter, her meek presence still pulled the eyes of many. She strove to hide her form under rags, her lustrous glow under patches of dirt. She was failing horribly.

"Did you fetch the food?" She asked as she peered into the basket.

"Yes Ma'am, it's all here." She placed the food upon the counter.

"It's the wrong type of bread." She scolded. "Shame, even the Princess couldn't complete a simple chore."

Princess, princess. The ever so loathsome nickname her old master called her. She told her she was far too weak for her at times back breaking labor, but she forced her to do it anyways. "Princess," her name. It only reminded Zelda of her poverty.

"I'm sorry."

"We haven't anymore rupees to spend so your mistakes will have to suffice." She stepped closer to the girl, examining her bruised and limp wrist.

"I, I slipped in the mud in Termina." Zelda answered her angered eyes. Her gaze was fixed on the floor. The old master, in one fluid motion, shot her hand out and snatched Zelda's injured wrist. Zelda cried out in pain, her broken bones shifting. She winced and quivered in place.

"Hm," the old woman turned it in her grasp. "Best be careful. You're practically useless as it is. Start the soup."

Zelda moved to the counter, still riving in pain. She began the workings of making the soup. Her master was cruel, but this to her wasn't a surprise. As she prepared the ingredients, she relived the day in the market, painting the benevolent stranger in her eyes again.

"Princess!" A bark drew her from her work. She scampered into the entrance room, bowing as she entered.

"Yes master?"

"Anju has grown tired of tending the desk. Take her place."

"Yes ma'am." She walked around the hall to the entrance to the desk. Anju passed her and wandered out of the hotel. The desk was truly the most boring of tasks, as the customers wouldn't come until nightfall. Zelda would of course still be standing there when the real flow of patrons entered.

The door opened around sunset, breaking the girl from her thoughts. She looked up, only to remember the face she saw entering. She gasped, as the same blue eyes from the market met hers. She took a small step back, and heard the rustled movement of her master coming from the hall. She'd be in the lobby soon, to see her exposed. The man came forward, and she couldn't help but find him handsome. His somewhat disheveled dark blond hair was pulled back and he had distinguished features. He was quite tall and wore a fine coat- she could tell he was far more affluent than most others in the town. He smiled as he stepped forward.

She prepared to defend herself, but that soon turned to thoughts of blatant confession. She started to speak but he interrupted her.

"I'd like to see about obtaining a room, please." He put his hands on the counter a leaned closer.

"Have we met?" He asked knowingly.

"Ah, I-" She stammered.

"Well, we couldn't have, properly. I'd remember the name of such a gorgeous face."

Her head grew warmer. She searched for words.

"Zelda. My name is Zelda."

"Don't mind her! Just out servant." Her master cried. Still, he didn't break contact with Zelda's eyes.

"Zelda- that's a pretty name." He turned his head slightly to the side. "I think I've heard it before."

"Oh, we just call her Princess here." Her master tried to pull him away. "She isn't worth a lick for working. Always getting hurt." Anju entered, dull eyes shifting over the people in the room.

"Ah, yes my granddaughter Anju. My, meet the young, charming man, Anju." Zelda knew she wouldn't of bothered slipping away from her Sherry if he hadn't been dressed in such a fiscally upholding manner.

"Pleasure to meet you." Anju tried to maintain interest, but she'd given her heart away a long time ago. "May I go up to my room now, Grandmother?"

"Ah- yes, one moment." She hesitated, struggling to come up with a reason for her to stay and chat with the traveler. "You are a traveler, are you not?"

"Yes, I am," the man said.

"Well, Anju will have to show you around our marvelous city later." The master forced a grin, and Anju slipped away.

Zelda's master barked one more order before leaving, "Bring him up to the nice room, Princess."

"Yes, Ma'am." Zelda answered as the woman turned away.

"The nice room?" The man asked.

"Yes," she smiled. "There's only two rooms. One of them in just wooden bunks, the other has a fireplace, and two actual beds, and a table."

"I'm grand enough for all of that?" He asked with lightness in his voice.

"She thinks so." Zelda responded coyly.

"Ah, but not you."

"I never said such a thing." Something about him brought jitters to her stomach, but he was all together comforting as well. "Still, it's as you say. We've never met."

"Our meeting at the market escapes you?" He whispered.

"It might as well. How are you so sure that I was at the market?"

"Those eyes. I'd recall them anywhere."

She looked down, blushing vigorously. He'd won this time.

"How long will you be staying?" She managed to say. He looked at her, ideas of her infatuation in his eyes.

"I need it for the books!" She insisted.

"I don't know. Let's call it a week for know."

"Why on earth would you want to stay a whole weak?" She accidentally blurted out at the surprise of a customer staying more than a single night.

"I don't know that either."

"Well, for the week it will be 140 rupees." Such a sum. He payed it as if it was but change.

"Here is your key," she said. "The room is up the stairs, second door on the right. You might have to jiggle the lock."

"Thank you, miss."

No one had ever called her miss. He went to turn up to climb the steps, but she called him back.

"Sir, what is your name? I need to record that as well."

He smirked. He saw past her facade, as easily as the others did.

"It's Link, Zelda." He left, and she heard his footsteps over her head.

Link, the name almost seemed to mean something to her.

* * *

A/N: Hope you're liking it so far. Next chapter- _Over the City_. (Yay, more Zelink) 


	4. Reflections in Suds

_Reflections in Suds_

* * *

Her mind was hardly on her work as she scrubbed the floors of the kitchen and dusted the cobwebs out from the corners of every room. Her old mistress grew cross with her attracting the eyes of the gentleman. She started by picking on her but her anger mounted until she finally cast her off to do chores. She worked the scrub brush against the kitchen floor, melodically almost, her light eyes transfixed to one spot.

He was on her mind. She was giddy, meeting someone new. Someone like him. It wasn't often she received any proper attentions from men. Sure, the gruff workers would fire catcalls at her and she'd look away towards the ground, but Link was different. She sounded his name out in her head, it seemed so familiar. He was Prince-like, and even though they'd only barely met she was drawn to him.

Oh, but she was stupid. How could he ever see anything more than a slave in her? The rags she wore weren't courtly, nor was the dirt on her face. She caught a glimpse of herself in the water of the sud filled bucket. White bubbles framed her sad face, quite a sight. Zelda the slave, all she could ever be. All she ever would be.

She took her break at nightfall, the mistress shoving a piece of bread into her hand and a small cup of water.

"That's it?" She remarked at her meager portions.

"We've got nothing more for you." The woman responded.

She dragged her feet up the stairs, finishing her bread before she reached the top. So little, her stomach still rumbled. Her hand hurt, and she felt near dizzy with hunger. She wanted to sit down, just for a while. She walked down the upstairs hallway, walking outside onto the wooden plank balcony. She curled her legs up under her and let the cool wind whip her hair back. Below her, she could see the townsfolk gathering into the bar across the stone square. Suddenly she heard the door open behind her. Zelda turned to see him yet again.

"Princess," he addressed her with a nod of the head.

"Oh, please don't call me that." She smiled at him.

"Sorry, Zelda, couldn't resist." He grinned and sat beside her. "What are you doing up here all by yourself?"

"I took a break from working, to eat supper."

"Well, where is your dinner?" He asked.

"Oh, I finished it. If you could call a slice of bread dinner." She spoke with a sad laugh intertwined in her voice.

"One slice? And did they feed you an afternoon meal?"

"No, but I did have some breakfast this morning."

"Why?"

"It's all we can afford. Rupees have been scarce throughout the town for as long as I've known it."

"Shame." He looked down to the street. "Come up here often."

"Yes, quite" she confessed. "I like to look down on all the people. People are quite interesting you know. In the day I see them dignified, hard working, wearing their masks in the street. Now at evening they come to the bar or square to drink, and feign merriment for a while. Later on they'll stumble into the hotel to make more trouble for tomorrow, and they'll be in different light from both sun and lantern."

"Questionable morals?" He contemplated the scene below.

"If it's immoral to want to forget, if only for a while."

"How did you come here anyway? How did you get to be a slave?"

"I only wish I could remember." She smiled. "It's almost funny. I woke up one night when I was a small girl in the back of a carriage, with blood running down my face and a broken arm. In couldn't remember anything but my name- Zelda. I was sold, and I've been working and waiting for over a decade, just waiting to remember something. I don't even know how old I am."

He glanced toward her arm. "What happened to you wrist?"

"What? Oh, yes-" Another confession. "I was robbed before I got to the market, that's why I tried to take the bread. I'm not a thief Link-"

"I never thought you were." He put out a hand. "Let me see your wrist."

She set her injured wrist in his care. He gently touched it, feeling the bones.

"It will have to be set. Can I?" She nodded. He rubbed the joint and in one motion he cracked the bones pack into their proper places. She grimaced in pain, but after she immediately felt relief. He began to wrap her wrist properly with the bandage she'd thrown on it before.

"Thank you. It feels better all ready." She looked at him as he concentrated on wrapping her injury. "Where did you come from anyway?"

"Me? Castle town." He replied.

"All the way from Castle Town?" She'd never met anyone from such a place, so far away. "Have you seen the castle?"

"Of course. Even lived there for a while. My father was a Knight, and well, the Queen payed for my education. I was a Knight myself- still am I suppose. I just took some time for myself to travel."

"Sounds lovely to live inside the castle." He laughed.

"It's alright, I guess."

A time of quietness passed in comfort after he finished wrapping the bandage, the sounds of the street almost lyrical. Zelda spoke again.

"Why does it feel like I've know you my whole life?" She looked into his eyes, almost to see herself.

"I feel the same."

They were both startled by the cry of "Princess" from the inside of the inn. Zelda tried to stand, and her lightly clasped her healthy hand.

"Stay." He said.

"If only." She slipped back to her work.

* * *

The days passed like so. They met when there was a brief chance they met not by purpose but by accident. Her free seconds were met by his grin and they quickly came to now each other as well as they felt they had. He had an intoxicating charm, and she couldn't help but lower her guard and float a bit around him. It scared her.

His week stay turned to two weeks, and he had to have the temperament of a sage to stay around the old mistress constantly searching for any excuse to usher him away with a severely unenthusiastic Anju. Still, she was extremely happy. With him around, the freezing ground didn't seem to hurt her bare feet, the work didn't seem to dull her mind as much.

One evening the music came from the bands in South Clock Town and the sun inched underneath the horizon. A glow cast through the open roof of the space in town utilized for laundry and onto her face as she scrubbed clothes not her own. Again, another festival was in swing, and again, she wasn't in attendance. She worked in solitude- but for once, she wasn't by herself.

She heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stone steps. She turned to find him in the doorway.

He sat next to her small form, folded over her work.

"Hello Link," she smiled. "Why aren't you at the festival?"

"Why aren't you?" He answered nonchalantly.

"Work."

"Well, I didn't find it all that entertaining."

"Why not? I'm sure there's great things to eat, and women to dance with, I can hear the music in here it sounds really lovely." She couldn't hide her urge to go.

"What if the girl I wanted to dance with wasn't there?"

She raised her head up, the last dancing rays of sunlight shining of her hair. He leaned forward and kissed her, kissed her in such a way her bonds of labor felt as if they had been broken.

She broke away.

"Link...I-"

He kissed her again, and under the rising moon she felt as if she had everything she ever needed.

* * *

The next morning she woke with a horrid mixture of joy and despair. Her dreams dark, she woke with the hampering reality that it was too good to be true. The little slave girl walked through the field, with out shoes as always, and alone. She returned to her work as always, and fate would tell her she was wrong.

She set to sweeping the foyer. She heard him coming down the stairs, she could distinguish his footsteps.

"Ah, Link!" The mistress greeted him. "This is the last day you are staying with us, no? Unless you'd like to add onto your reservation- we're happy to have you of course." Se pulled her face into a smile.

"Well, we'll see." He looked toward Zelda. "Actually, I was wondering if I could borrow Zel- I mean your slave today. My horse is staying at the ranch past the field, and I need someone to assist me in caring for her. I'd be happy to compensate you for her lost day of work."

The woman hesitated. "Oh, that's fine. Princess never does any job right anyhow."

"Thank you," he smiled and gestured to Zelda to follow him. She looked toward her mistress, then to the the door. She set her broom against the wall and followed apprehensively- waiting for the door to close behind her before smiling ear to ear.

"Well, what was that for?" She asked with laughter.

"What? I can't just take you out for a day?" He waked along side of her, grabbing her hand.

"No, I'm happy. It was just unexpected, that's all."

"We'll I figured maybe we could go to the Ranch, and maybe take Epona out, ride around. I haven't seen much of this place yet. Not enough anyway."

"Epona, that's a pretty name." She mused.

"She's a pretty horse. Gentle as anything. I bet you'll love her."

"I'm sure I will."

"There's just one thing I have to do first." He lead her into a clothing shop.

"What's that?" She asked.

"Buy you some shoes." He closed the door behind them.

"Oh, Link! I couldn't-" She grew flustered.

"Well I can't have you walking around without any. You'll slow us down. It just isn't reasonable." He smiled matter-of-factly.

"I couldn't take your charity." She mumbled.

"Consider it repayment. I've been staying at that hotel two weeks, and haven't tipped you a single rupee. I wouldn't feel right if you didn't get anything. Please, accept a pair, for my own sake." He pulled of the hat he wore and threw on a face of mock concern. She laughed and gave in. Soon, she slipped her feet into a new pair of small leather shoes, with detailing cut into them. They were simple but by far the finest of anything she had ever known.

The day was spent under the sun at the ranch and around nearly every corner of the beautiful Termina. She saw things she had never seen before, but had passed ever day. They returned to down late afternoon, Zelda not even sparring a thought of her owner's discontent. This was the finest day she'd ever had, and she couldn't help but feel she might never feel this way again. She stopped in place as soon as they entered through the town gates. The sight of the Queen's royal men draped in blue at the entrance of the inn holding her in her place. She looked on inquisitively, as Link stopped beside her, contemplating the same view.

"Looks as if I've got company." He said with urgency. "Follow me." He took her hand and face the guard but he extended his spear blocking the path.

"They's here to see you, sir." He spoke, gesturing across the crowded square to the men still busy at the entrance of the Stock Pot Inn. "I cannot let ya pass."

He turned, ducking behind a full cart. "I have to get out of here." He spoke in a rushed tone. She ducked beside him.

"Link, what in goddess's name is happening?"

"I'll explain later. Is there another way out of the town unblocked by guards?"

She nodded. "One way." The two ran up stone stairs, and she pulled him into a slim ally. They ran until the sounds of the streets faded away.


	5. Swept Away Under the Leaves

_Swept Away Under the Leaves_

* * *

Trusting him in spite of the all the frenzied cries of her logical senses, she took his hand as they disappeared away under the streets of clock town. The lyrical pressing of the streets faded away into the silence of the under world, the only sounds were their panting breaths and the small creeping noises of the sewers, rats taking their hiding spaces among the diverted waters from the streets. She hadn't been here, in the underside of the city, for some time now, not since the old astronomer who'd lived in the observatory tucked away near Termina Field had died and stopped paying her a few rupees a week to bring him fresh groceries every morning.

She guided him through the various twists and turns, and she suddenly realized she still held his hand in hers. Zelda exhaled suddenly, and nearly retracted her fingers, but for the time being she didn't. He looked around, and sighed.

"Where exactly are we?"

"The sewers." She responded, shutting her eyes to recall the secret pathways she had to take.

"I guessed that," he chuckled. "I should have asked why."

"Here's why." She turned a corner to find a ladder, and parting they both pulled themselves up. They were met with an eccentric room filled with glittering mobiles of painted glass and stuffed chairs, and shelves stacked with eclectic knick-knacks form seemingly every corner of the world. Traces of light seeped in from a skylight window, and various colors plastered themselves upon the weary walls. Link looked around in wonderment, a room full of useless things yet still stocked with wonder.

"This place-" he started, still staring at the things that filled the room.

"This place belonged to an old astronomer I once knew. He researched things in here, all alone. He never left in all the time I knew him. I used to bring him groceries when I was younger, and he'd tell me tales about all the things he had, from all different places- but he didn't collect them himself. He sent away for them, friends and family- mail orders, but none on his own accord."

"Loses it's meaning doesn't it?" He followed her past the large golden telescope, covered with cobwebs.

She nodded, "Yes." She lead him to a door and pushed it open, and they stood in a fenced in pen, the evening breeze filling her lungs. She spotted Epona, grazing where they had left her, near a town entrance.

"You can go from here." She smiled softly. "Hurry." She urged him, but still he turned.

"Zelda, I can't." He took her hands. "Come with me." He grinned.

"Link, I can't. I- I'm not free to go where I please. I'm a slave. You have to go." A weight settled in her stomach, and she hated the thought of him going more than being punished later on.

He climbed to the top of the fence, and held out a hand.

"Zelda, you've got to come with me, you don't want to stay here forever, I know it." Sounds of chaos brewed within the city walls. "I will not leave with out you."

She took his hand, tentatively.

"They'll send for me, my master won't let me go. I'll be an outlaw."

"You and me both, soon enough." Her wiser aspects caught the best of her, and she retracted her hand.

"Tell me why your wanted. Tell me why those men came here."

A clank of metal sounded and a guards voice bellowed. "I don't have time. Please trust me."

It seems that it should have taken her a minute to ponder, at least a string of seconds to formulate a response, but she knew she hadn't the time to think of the heart to return. She grasped his hand, and he pulled her up. With a joyful sprint he ran to the horse, she hiking her skirt to follow him in his own quick pace. In a blurred attempt the couple mounted Epona and Link urged her towards the forests. She sat behind him in the saddle, her arms wrapped around him and her fingers laced together. She turned her neck back to face the town, the sun falling sun casting a glow to her face and dulling her sight. In time she saw those pursuing them had get to catch a view of the fleeing horse. Then, in this pseudo-relaxation, she relaxed her kind eyes to think of those she may never see again, and the life she may never be forced to lead. She could only pray she had taken the right path, a better path. The town was quickly blocked from her by hanging braces full of new born leaves. They had entered the forest.

* * *

She rode with him for miles, her hair whipped out behind her in the night sky. Her heart raced the entire time, but she had the feeling Link had been through such experiences before. All the while she kept turning her back in fear they would catch their trail. So far, they had came across nothing but trees, thick foliage. Eventually he beckoned for the horse to stop, and he dismounted and helped her down. He removed a square of flint from his pocket and in the cover of the forest he began to make a small fire. 

"Aren't you afraid they'd find us?" She asked, and she settled down to the mossy ground besides him.

"The Royal Guard?" He scoffed. "Their none too smart. Don't forget I've worked with them, I know."

She smiled, but then cleared her face of emotion. "Why did they come after you?"

He gazed at the burning branches before them, the glow of the fire illuminating his face. "Zelda- I want to tell you why, but you won't believe me."

She smiled agian. "Try me."

He sighed, and the corners of his mouth slided up into a sly smile. "Alright. But it's a long story. Hear me out."

She nodded, wrapping her legs under herself. He inhaled then started.

"When I was born my mother died, and my father was a knight. He was fairly high ranking, and worked constantly with the late King of Hyrule. You don't remember that time do you? Before the King died?"

"No, I don't."

"Right, exactly what I thought. Anyways, I was raised in the castle, under the care of an old governess in the servants halls. While my Father carried on in the Noble's courts and castle halls, I worked with the grounds keepers as soon as I could hold a spade. I rarely saw him, because he had his own affairs to deal with."

"I'm sorry Link." Sympathy filled her features.

"No, that's alright Zelda that isn't what this is about. The point is what he was doing. I wouldn't find this out until years later, when I had completed my training for the army, when I was knighted myself. With power comes privilege, and with that privilege I learned more than I could imagine.

"Hyrule wasn't always like this, Zelda. History books paint our Kingdom as a just place, once. Before her rule. Now we all bow down to Narcissa, her men storm every building she wills them too, she lets our world crumble in her hands. She was never meant to rule, yet still she asks me to call her mother."

"Mother?" She asked.

"Aye. When I was a boy, it turns out my father was with her- lovers, perhaps. But she didn't love him. He died shortly after the King did, and in similar fashion. For a while there was suspicion of fowl play on the part of the newly crowned queen, so she took me up as her own and sent me to various academies to form me as a future leader and posed besides me in portraits. When she began to gray and develop the fear that she wouldn't be fit to rule forever, she deemed me heir. I was called back from duty, to refine my ways as future ruler, and I found myself under her watch. She knew I could sense her lies."

Zelda leaned forward, hanging on the story.

"I knew a girl once, the princess of Hyrule."

"Princess?" She asked.

"Yes. The King had a daughter before he passed away, a little blond girl. I knew her only by sight, she was few years younger than myself. I looked for her the day of her father's funeral, but she was no where to be seen. Word passed around the castle that she had taken ill like her father did, and no maid nor nanny was permitted to see her. I slipped up to her chambers that night. I don't know why, I just wanted to see her, and to see that she was fine, but she wasn't. Her bed was empty, and made. Three days later, they buried her, but I had returned to her room every night and there wasn't a sign of life. She wasn't anywhere to be found, and I knew she wasn't dead."

"What did you do?"

"I couldn't do anything. My father died, and Queen Narcissa kept me by her side for a shield, but then she shipped me off when I asked questions. I returned only when she wanted me to prepare to rule. I was in the library one day, and with my new found position as "Prince," I gained access to the restricted documents. I was filing through undisclosed war listings, when I found it. It was a bundle of letters my father had sent to Narcissa, a secret correspondence she must have kept due to some feelings of remorse for lost affection. Each page held details, how Narcissa seduced the King, how they poisoned the King, and how they plotted to kill the Princess, but she had fallen down a flight of stairs and onto her head, and in an unconscious state been sold away to slave trade, and how he trusted her to pick him as her new husband and they could rule together in power. The letters end then, for my father died. I have no doubt in my mind she killed him, and the Princess still lives. I returned the letters to their hiding space, but she must have returned to find them disheveled, for fear was reignited within her. Within days, young blond women of the peasantry, servants and slaves especially were summoned to the castle to be interrogated. She began to search for the long lost princess and put a bounty over her head, or that of any girl who could claim to be the princess, for if this girl was found, she could expose and overthrow the Queen.

"I was able to arrange sets of records to me from various slave traders, and the only records of a girl at that approximate age with injuries tell of a girl traded away here in this city. It was by a miraculous chance of the goddesses that I should find her in the market the first day I came. Zelda, you are the lost Princess."

"What?" She yelled, and quickly dropped her voice to a whisper. "A Princess?" She asked in disbelief.

"Zelda, your the exact image of the lost young girl, not to mention you bare the same uncommon name. You have a scar on your head that could be from a fall, and no memory of your youth before you were a slave. Tell me this does not sound like you are the key to overthrowing an unjust monarchy, and returning Hyrule to it's splendor?"

"Link, I-"

"Don't worry, I know it is quite some information to contemplate. The more I know you, the more I feel you are the key to solving this problem. You must be the Princess we lost, and as soon as we can prove it I hope we can expose Narcissa for the murderer she is."

She was washed with a sense of wonderment and disbelief. She felt as if she could burst at any minute and that she could die too. He sensed this, and pulled a tattered blanket from a saddle pack.

"Most of my things were left in the hotel," he muttered, spreading the blanket on the ground and gesturing for her to lay beside him. "Just promise me you'll come with me to the Palace- we'll see if that jogs your memory."

"I will, and thank you Link, for taking me away."

He smiled, and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight Zelda." She managed to muster enough air to bid him goodnight as well, before turning to the stars. She stared up to the little lights peeking through the brush, and contemplated if she could truly be a "princess," and if the man beside her could truly love her.


	6. Charm

_Charm_

* * *

They arrived in the city surrounding the castle the next morning. While flower boxes hung from near every window of the tall rows of little homes, no blossoms sprung from within, a direct contrast to the new green of the forest. The flat stone roads were swept clean by the villagers, but the white washed homes bore the marks of peeling paint. Gray faced old ladies sat on splintered chairs on warped thresholds, silent but screaming of dead secrets. The city built on wonderment seemed to be crumbling. 

Almost to read her heavy mind he muttered, "Castle town is certainly not what it once was." 

"Yes," She responded, her eyes still flickering back and forth. 

"We need a plan. I can't very well bring you into the castle with out a guise, a story." She nodded back to him, and he continued. "We will visit a friend of mine, and formulate an idea there." They continued on until they came to a particularly narrow road. Link stopped the horse and dismounted, and helped Zelda off. He knocked on the rounded wooden door, and she could make out many muffled curse words before a short rumpled man emerged to the entry way. He looked immensely cross, but the expression dissolved from his face almost immediately and was replaced by a childish glee. He seized Link by the hand and embraced him with several slaps on the back. 

"Link, you scalawag! Wher've you been! I haven't seen you in weeks." 

"Ah Mido, I've been around." Link grinned. 

"Well, come in." He turned to Zelda. "And who's this lovely girl?" 

"Mido, this is the lady Zelda. She's been traveling with me." 

"Come in, then." The all piled into a dimly lit, shabby sitting room. 

Link spoke, "Mido used to work in the castle, as did his mother. Before they were-" 

"Canned." Mido finished with a laugh. 

"Canned." Link repeated. "Anyways, there's an important reason we've come here today-"

Before Link could finish his statement, an older woman entered the room. Her eyes where glossed with faded memories and her hair was drawn into a frayed bun. 

"Mum, can you give us some time alone?" Mido remarked. 

"Of course." She said, but as she turned to leave she stopped. "Who is the girl?" 

"Zelda, Mum." He turned to her with a whispered sorry. 

"Such a face, a face I think I've seen before. The name...the name. The, the little child." Zelda shifted under the woman's transfixed stare. 

Mido looked as if he had suddenly realized something, for in fact he had. "Link, you couldn't possibly- Mum go on, I'll be in, I'll only be a minute." He looked on with wide eyes to Link, and then Zelda, and then Link again. "You think she's..." 

"Yes." Link responded. 

"Good goddess!" He shouted, and then clamored up from his seat and shook her hand with great vigor. 

He turned to Link. "Should we call the group in?" 

"Group?" She asked.

"There's a few of us." Link nodded. "We've been searching for a way to turn the power for some time now." He turned to Mido. "And no- I'd rather that we keep it to ourselves for a while." 

Link went on to explain the happenings of Zelda's discovery to Mido in the vaguest of terms, and together the three went on to weave a plan. It was quickly decided that she must be presented as a person of noble birth, to evade suspicion. They then began to mull over the story they were to present. 

"Tell Narcissa that she's your fiancée." Mido explained. 

"Fiancée?" Zelda choked in surprise, but Link only laughed. 

"It's bound to work!" Mido went on. "She won't question you...too much." 

"Aye, perhaps." Link was deep in thought. "But how will we present her as a noble?" 

"Oi! I know. Me Mum's worked for a while making clothes for the Queen, and when they fired her she kept the things she was working on and finished them so she might sell 'em in the market. She would 'ave too, if she wasn't afraid the Queen's guards would notice a peasant tramping around in her dresses." He chuckled. "She can make you up, and my sister should be in shortly." 

Zelda was led into the old woman's chamber, who seemed to have gained some composure since they had first met. 

"Forgive me, my lady, but you look so much like a girl I used to watch over, when I worked in the castle." She removed a beautifully embellished light blue dress from an old wardrobe. "Here you are." 

Zelda began to pull of her tattered garb, and a silver necklaced slipped from it's tucked position and dangled from her neck freely, tattered metal, trash to accompany her namesake. 

"That pendant," The woman asked, "Where did you get that?" 

"Oh, I've had it as long as I can remember. I figured it was valueless, only metal." She began to move the charm between her fingers, small triangles. "Otherwise, I would not have been left with it." 

"No," She whispered. "It's impossible. That girl, she died." She pulled a small box from the wardrobe, and displayed a matching charm. With new resolve she joined it to Zelda's, and completed triforce reveled itself. "It belonged first to your Mother, then when she died your Father." The woman began to cry. "I stole it, I shouldn't have, but I couldn't let her have it!" She shoved it into Zelda's hands. "The charm of the triforce is yours." 

"Take it, my Queen." The proof had fallen from the Gods. 

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates. I'm afraid I was busy and uninspired, but I've found new inspiration so I plan on a few new installments soon as well as a frock of oneshots. 


End file.
